Sunday, September 17, 2017

Houston Restaurant Weeks: Sunday Brunch at Backstreet Cafe

Happy Sunday Butterflies! Besides staying in and taking it easy, brunching is one of my favorite things to do on a Sunday morning/afternoon and since this year's Houston Restaurant Weeks was extended to the end of September due to Hurricane Harvey and I enjoyed my HRW meal so much the last time I decided to make a reservation for Brunch at Backstreet Cafe. Backstreet has been on my list of Houston restaurants to try for
some time and since they are a participating Restaurant in Houston Restaurant Weeks and donating a portion of their
profits from drinks to hurricane relief efforts I thought now
would be a great time to give them a try. Houston Restaurant Weekscelebrates food and charitable giving annually from August 1st through September 1st; portion of the proceeds from each meal ordered will benefit the Houston Food Bank.

Each three course meal has set price; brunch is $22, lunch is $20, and dinner is $35 or $45. The brunch menu at Backstreet consisted of three options per course to choose from. I had the Yogurt Parfait for my starter, French Toast-Stuffed for my entree and Raspberry Sorbet for dessert. Beverages are not
included in the meal price so prepare to pay a little extra to try any of the drinks. I tried and enjoyed the Houston Strong Margarita, which will be available for the next two months; a dollar from every Houston Strong Margarita is being donated to hurricane Harvey relief.

Although parking was a bit of a hassle, I was pleased with the way I was greeted by the valet staff and door staff and the service from the wait staff and my meal was exceptional. However halfway through my meal I remembered that I left $100 in my car that had been parked by valet.

In summary $20 was taken from my car. I spoke with manager of the valet drivers and of course no one knew what happened to it. I normally don't make a big deal about little things and especially since I shouldn't have left it in there in the first place but I didn't appreciate how this situation was dismissed like it was nothing so instead of just writing it off as a lost I decided to speak with someone instead about my experience. I was super excited about my experience up until this point. My brother in law had just given me the money right before I left home as a thank you for letting him and his family stay with me since their home got flooded during the recent storm and I was planning on giving it back to them when I returned, which is why I set it down in my car and forgot about it.

So, I went back inside and spoke a manager; he did offer to "give me" the $20 but I declined because he wasn't at all apologetic about my experience at his establishment and at this point it was no longer about the money. It really upset me because here I am trying to do good and someone working for this restaurant thinks it's ok to just take whatever they want and the fact that their management team thinks that this is ok behavior really disappointed me. My entire experience was ruined by this and I have to say I don't think I'll be dining there or recommending this place ever again because of it.